Mattress



Nov. 30, 1954 F. C. HOLTON MATTRESS Filed July 7, 1952 F. C. HOLTON.

. United (Ianada s im my 7, 1955,- seah'so. 237,421 ii catasst 5445"This invention relates to a mattress construction, ar

infants, the cever-ingior which may or may not be an In anyease,themattr'ess-is usually oftional advantages;

According to the invention generally, a mattress is provided i-nclu'dihga cushio'rl-like b'otiy snppertin section and a relatively thin poroushead supporting section co-extens ive t ir'ewith, 'with fnansfforsupporting the latter substantially in the plane of the upper surface 6fth'body supporting section and providing ther nelew aiiair space;Preferably, the head supporting se'c'tioh takes the form of a skeletonframe work connected to the cushion-like body section of the mattressand is designed t6 receive thereover a slip cover of thin perms materialsue-h as muslinor the like, are intermediate portion of which, suspendedbetween elements of the framework, forms the support for the head and/or upper portion of the torso.

Preferably, also, the frame-work provides an apron therebelow invertically spaced relation to the head supporting section, thecushion-like body supporting section of the mattress and the apron beingformed of an impervious washable material.

The invention may take various forms within the principle thereof andwill be clearly understood by reference to the following detailedspecification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,illustrating a preferred form of structure.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred form of mattressconstruction according to the invention, illustrating the manner inwhich the infant may lie thereon and be supported thereby;

Figure 2 is a perspective detail of the skeleton frame forming part ofthe head supporting section in the preferred form of structure; and

Figure 3 is a transverse section taken through the lower part of theskeleton frame which provides an underlying apron below the headsupporting section.

Referring to the drawings, A indicates a mattress as Thepr'es'entinvention generally avbidstiisadvantages the conventional type 'ofmattress and prbvities addia whole which is made up of a body supportingsection B and a head supporting section C. These general terms are usedfor the purpose of clarity of definition, it being understood that thehead supporting section may also serve to support a section of the uppertorso, such as the shoulders, as indicated in the drawings.

The body supporting section B is of generally conventional form, toprovide a cushion-like element of wellknown construction. Thispreferably is covered with an impervious covering which is washable. Thehead supporting section includes a relatively thin porous support 11which, in the preferred form of structure, takes the form of an envelopeor slipcover which is designed States Patent 0 a The width of theframe-wars 12' is sl i' to slip over 21 parties erthe skeletonframewverle n ce the" head supper-ting sectieii, as will be clearlyreferred mediately'as at 15 to dispose the upper vertically spacedrelationship to the 1oweae1emeatgu; eat i s th'e "widthof the berryportion tare se that the skeleton tram is will overlap thes'ide edgesshown in' Figure 1-. v

adjacent Eh heads the busy seetien as The lower element '14 or thehead-sa partni seetierr C is designed ts be covered with an imperviuuser'iat suchaS' thatemployed fl ihii ts-odypertion h this covering,ihdic'at'ti BY the ffiilfi'eral 16 may, in fact, be 5-- continuation ofthe material covering the body-ififtiofi- B"; the preference pain 1 1ease, that tl ie had supporting seetien iii S'Wingbly tibhfiec'td 16 themay {fit}? tion B, which may be effected through the flexible witeiir'ig material, w-hthbf it is a iitirlu'atififi of the mattress 6!" aseparate hiati'i Wh h' ay SeWifti y the body por't-ibhto establishehaeenn ion:

it is preferable-that th lower elem sulil'jfiftih S'ClibhC iii titles 5member extending a element shell as the stiffening 'elfnfit- 17 "(Figf3) at hare:- board or other suitable material, whiche set-weenthes'idehiefnbers 1 36f theeieinent 14 aiid is wra ped around thesemembers as-"at l9 aiid seenredte itself- 319 by staplin g' a stiffeningat 29 adjacent the free lapped edges thereof or other suitable Thestiffening element T7 not ii'ecssaiil'y esse tial b'iltmay HEadvantagedusr efn ployed here the side members" 18 a rt initiated freeehds beiew the side members 6f up setih 1 3, The covering lfi suitblyenveiepes the lwer'setin 11 thus prev g; ineffect; afi aprong'eh'eial-ly-inflicat fi b the le'tt D-. This apiofi, as 'h'CW/fi if;Fi'l'ir I diseases iii 'ver'tieaity s aced apart relations ip seetinthillsipiovidis a ohiplt'e Qiid Silbstah tial air channel between theapron and the head supporting element 11.

As previously indicated, the head supporting element 11 takes the formof a thin porous material made into an envelope or slip-cover which issuspended intermediately between the side members 21 and end member 22of the upper section 13 of the head supporting section C. This,therefore, provides a reasonably suitable and comfortable support forthe infant's head, eliminates the possibility of the head indenting intoa cushioning element such as a conventional mattress and consequentoverheating which may result in chills or other harmful effects and, byreason of the free air circulation between the apron D and the headsupporting element 11, the infants head will not become excessivelywarm, overheated or generally uncomfortable. Likewise, it is perfectlyobvious that if the infant were to roll over on to its stomach so thatits face was in direct contact with the head supporting element 11, theinfant would be able to breathe reasonably through the porous coveringwhich would eliminate possibility of smothering as in the case of aconventional mattress.

Of equal importance is the facility for maintaining the mattresssanitary. As indicated, the body supporting section B is of imperviousmaterial and washable. The head supporting section embodying the thinporous head supporting element in the form of an envelope or slip-covercan be readily changed with little difficulty, is easily washable and ofparticular importance is the fact that if the infant expels food and/orsaliva, it will tend to pass through the thin porous element 11 belowwhich extends the readily washable apron D.

Likewise, milk from a leaking bottle will pass through the element 11.Thus, as compared to a porous conventional mattress, unsanitaryconditions are avoided; as compared with a conventional mattress havingan impervious covering, accumulation of liquid or the like andpossibility of smothering of the child, is avoided.

Patented Nov. 1954 "at the head" Accordingly, therefore, the inventionprovides substantial advantages from the point of view of baby healthand Obviously, variations may well be made in the principle of theinvention above described, in relation to the preferred form. It istherefore intended that the foregoing should be interpreted asillustrative of the invention and that it should not be interpreted in alimiting sense and that no limitations should be imposed other thanthose set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a mattress, a cushion-like body supporting section and a headsupporting section of substantially the same width, said head supportingsection including a pair of supports in parallel spaced relation,supported substantially in the plane of the upper surface of the bodysupporting section, and a relatively thin porous head rest extendingbetween said pair of supports, said body supporting section beinginsertable between said pair of supports.

2. In a mattress as claimed in claim 1, a covering for the clushion-likebody support of impervious washable materia 3. In a mattress as claimedin claim 1, a covering for the cushion-like body support of imperviouswashable material, said head supporting portion also including an apronextending below said pair of supports in spaced apart parallel relationthereto and substantially in a plane co-incident with the lower surfaceof the body supporting section, said apron including a covering ofimpervious washable material.

4. In a mattress as claimed in claim 1, said head supporting portionincluding an apron extending below said pair of supports, in spacedapart parallel relation thereto and substantially in a plane co-incidentwith the lower surface of the body supporting section, said apronincluding a covering of impervious washable material.

, 5. In a mattress, a cushion-like body supporting section, and a headsupporting section including a frame having a pair of side supportsdisposed in substantially parallel relation, spaced apart a distancesubstantially equal to the width of the body supporting portion andhaving means to dispose said supports in a plane sub- 4 i V stantiallyco incident to the top surface of the body supporting section, arelatively thin porous head rest extending between said pair ofsupports, and means for flexibly securing said frame to the bodysupporting portion.

6. In a mattress as claimed in claim 5, said means for disposing saidsupports including a second pair of supports disposed in verticallyspaced relation to the first pair a distance substantially equal to thethickness of the body supporting portion, and an impervious elementextending between said second pair of supports forming an apron belowand in spaced relation to said head rest.

7. In a mattress as claimed in claim 6, said pair of supports beingformed from a single piece of material.

8. In a mattress as claimed in claim 1, a stiffening element extendingbetween the second pair of supports.

9. In a mattress, a cushion-like body supporting section and a separatehead supporting section, removably connected thereto, the lattercomprising a frame having a pair of parallel supports disposed in acommon plane and spaced apart a distance substantially equal to thewidth of the mattress body-supporting section and supporting means incombination therewith and spaced apart therefrom perpendicularly totheir plane a distance substan-' tially equal to the thickness of-thebody supporting portion of the mattress.

10. In a mattress as claimed in claim 9, said supporting meanscomprising a second pair of supports integral with the first pair-v andbent in spaced relation thereto.

11. In a mattress as claimed in claim 9, said supporting meanscomprising a second pair of substantially parallel supports disposed ina common plane substantially parallel to and spaced from the plane ofthe first pair and a flexibleimpervious material extending between said,secv ond pair of supports forming an apron, said first pair formingsupports for a thin porous head rest disposed therebetween in a planeparallel to said apron.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS200,620 Switzerland Apr. 17, 1939

